Government received 233,000 H-1B petitions, up from 172,500 a year ago

Applications by U.S. companies for skilled-worker visas, known as H-1Bs, reached a record 233,000 this year, the government said.

A maximum of 85,000 skilled-worker visas, for foreign workers mainly in science, engineering and computer programming, are available each year. Of that total, 20,000 are allocated to foreigners with advanced degrees...